Astounding Book Giveaway

What an exciting Saturday afternoon we had the first weekend in April. 650 new books were given to children at five apartment complexes and one local supermarket. What started as an annual Community Day, organized by Susan Lawson, of First Presbyterian Church Concord, became a very successful book giveaway.

Our goal was to get these new books into the hands of children who had not been part of past events. Apartment Managers were eager to open their complexes up to volunteers for a couple of hours on Saturday, April 2nd.

At the Stirling Cove Apartments, Susan Lawson and Doris Sloan met many children and parents and gave away 80 books.

At Riley Court Apartments, the Rodriguez, Bill Nelson, and Ellie Chin gave away 90 books, while Moe read the books to the gathered children. One of the young boys was so excited as he called out to his sister that now that they had their own books they could play teacher.

At Virginia Lane Apartments, a large crowd of children and parents gathered in the courtyard to get their books. Many of the mothers want to meet together again to plan other things for their complexes.

At Parkview Apartments, there was a good turnout of children and adults. While the children were selecting their books, the Aztec Dancers performed and people gathered to watch.


At the Los Rancheros Supermarket, we gave books away, but the supermarket provided snacks at a discount price, a bouncy activity, the Aztec Dancers. Everyone had a wonderful time.

Everyone agreed that these six book giveaways met or exceeded our goals and objectives. It was such a great opportunity for people from a cross-section of our community to enjoy a few hours together.

Lots of books = Happy children

Once again many children were able to choose books to take home for their own personal library. Each child was encouraged to pick two books.

So many beautiful, gently used or new books had been donated from the community for this annual event at Meadow Homes Park, Concord, California.

Six volunteers from the community helped make this event so successful. A good time was had by all .... the children received the fun of choosing their own books, and the volunteers had the joy of sharing their love of books with the children.

Teaching English at Riley Court Apartments

Two students were awarded certificates at a special end-of-the-summer celebration at the Riley Court Apartments. Ramon speaks and understands English at an intermediate level, but was able to increase vocabulary and improve his grammar. Maria, a beginner. is still so shy about speaking, but she has learned so many new words and understands much of what she hears. She is on her way, and is eager to learn more. This informal class has worked wonderfully for her, and she will be enrolling at the local elementary school class when her son is old enough for the preschool class.




Sue Hummel and Helen Essenwanger have been faithfully sharing the leadership of this class. Sue has been the English teacher and Helen has provided educational fun with the children while their parents were learning. Sue needs to take some time off to get a consulting business going, but says she will be back!

New volunteers are always welcome.

Library at Sun Ridge Apartments

Many children enjoyed the newly opened library at the Sun Ridge Apartment complex on Saturday. While their parents were getting their H1N1 shot, the children enjoyed the good selection of books in their informal library. Already, many children have checked out books. We are looking for someone in the apartment complex to step forward, and take charge of the library. Several of the elementary age children have been helping whenever the Club House is open.

Exploring Education Concerns

What can we do, as residents of the Monument area of Concord, to assist our local schools? A small group of Latinos met at the Monument Community Partnership to express their concerns and begin exploring ways to help. At the same time, a group of volunteers who have been reading to preschool children in the area, met and discussed some of the same concerns, and began exploring ways they might be able to contribute in other ways. The leadership of the Monument Community is also exploring possibilities, communicating with the Mount Diablo Unified School District, along with a broader network of residents.

Anyone interested in continuing this dialog, with the hope of making a real difference in our community, is welcome to attend the next planning meeting, July 29th, 2010 at the Keller House, 1760 Clayton Rd
Concord, CA 94520